Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 520: My Wish to Become a Famous Person in History

On the second day, Yu Yunwen came up with a complete plan to deal with the chaos in Lianghuai.

First, spring plowing is the priority, so recruiting soldiers should be suspended. Mr. Zhang Jun, please stop making trouble.

Second, don't send the troops north. There is not enough food to support so many people. Everyone knows the military discipline of the Song Dynasty. If they march along the way, the people's livelihood in various places will be affected.

Third, the Jingnan Army and the Dongping Army stationed at the northernmost end of the east and west routes in Huainan quickly dispatched elite troops to quell the rebellion.

Of course, in private, Yu Yunwen proposed another plan, which was to throw all the rioters north of the Huai River and let them disrupt the territory of the Jin Dynasty, thus saving the trouble of resettling them.

The Jin Dynasty suffered heavy losses from this southern expedition, and people's livelihood was in great chaos. If they could use this as an example to disrupt the entire Central Plains region, the Jin Dynasty would have to live in peace for at least several more years.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if it fails, because the Song State will not suffer any losses anyway.

Zhao Gou was overjoyed and repeatedly praised Yu Yunwen as a pillar of talent. He also revealed in front of all the ministers that he wanted to appoint Yang Yizhong as the envoy to Jianghuai and Jingxiang, and Yu Yunwen as the deputy envoy.

Yu Yunwen was caught off guard.

He never expected that he would be politically tied to Yang Yi Zhong, and for a moment he didn't know how to deal with it.

This was obviously because the Jianghuai Jingxiang Xuanfu Envoy was in charge of the two major war zones and held a high position of power. Zhao Gou was really worried about him and wanted to send his confidant Yang Yi Zhong to hold this position. The person who actually did the work was Yu Yunwen.

And this deputy envoy position also has a lot to say.

This position does not allow one to have the final say in government affairs, and after two years, one has to return to the court to serve as prime minister just when things have been sorted out. It is impossible for one to accomplish any political affairs.

This arrangement is extremely politically wise.

Naturally, this news inevitably caused an uproar.

As the central figure of the incident, Yang Yizhong naturally received a lot of impeachment.

But Yang Yizhong has indeed been through many battles and has seen a lot. The constant calls for "behead Yang Yizhong" have never stopped. This impeachment is at best a drizzle.

Since his father was like this, Yang Neng, as a son, naturally would not take such a trivial matter seriously.

In fact, Yang Neng was almost going crazy with joy.

This guy has completely forgotten his father's instructions. After the Lantern Festival, he no longer paid any attention to Tang Shuo. He has been following Xin Qiji and hanging out with the pro-war literati.

During this period, Xin Qiji wrote many poems, several of which were worthy of being sung throughout the world, giving Yang Tan the opportunity to express his feelings.

This guy has been laughing in his dreams these days, feeling that he will definitely have a place in historical notes.

Just as Yang Neng was looking forward to it, the time came to March 1st, Beigu Tower in Jingkou.

The scholars of the pro-war faction gathered together, not just to make friends through literature and discuss national affairs, but to welcome a young scholar who "carries the hopes of the next thirty years."

Xin Qiji was initially rather disgusted with these literary gatherings, thinking that idle talk would harm the country and that nothing great could be accomplished by associating with these people.

However, after getting acquainted with Zhu Xi and Chen Liang, he discovered that the literati in the Southern Song Dynasty were very different from the children of aristocratic families in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

There were indeed a lot of useless scholars in the Wei and Jin dynasties, and although there were also some unsatisfactory scholars in the Song Dynasty, most of them passed the imperial examinations with real talents and knowledge, and many of them had experience as local officials.

For example, Zhu Xi served as a county magistrate before he went to school again. He fought against local tyrants, quelled bandits, and presided over spring plowing and autumn harvests. He was a technical bureaucrat with certain abilities.

Another example is Chen Liang. Although he is young, he rose from humble beginnings because his family fell into poverty. He has a thorough understanding of the sufferings of the people and the malpractices in the officialdom.

Behind these scholars, there are often landlords and powerful people, or they have the support of people in a county or a place. They can really influence the attitude of a certain region towards national policies.

To sum it up in one sentence, these new generation of pro-war scholars may not have sufficient experience, their abilities may vary, and their personalities may differ, but there is no problem with their IQ and talents.

There won't be such a situation where a scholar doesn't know how to read.

When Xin Qiji and Yang Dan arrived at Beigu Tower, Zhu Xi and Chen Liang had already arrived and were waiting downstairs.

When he saw Xin Qiji, Zhu Xi patted his belly and laughed out loud: "Xin Wulang, Yang Erlang, you have kept me waiting for so long."

Seeing that the two wanted to exchange pleasantries, Chen Liang immediately stepped forward and took Xin Qiji's arm: "Brother Xin Wu, Brother Zhu San, please don't waste time here. Everyone is waiting. Don't make Mr. Yu Hu wait any longer."

When Yang Neng heard the name, he couldn't help but straighten his clothes. Seeing Xin Qiji's calm expression, he admired him even more.

Facing this person, Xin Wulang could still remain so calm, truly worthy of being a great general.

This is the person that should be won over for my father. As for Tang Shuo, he is a waste. Why should I care about him?
Of course, the reason why Xin Qiji had no expression was very simple.

He had no idea who Mr. Yu Hu was.

There are so many gentlemen and lay Buddhists in the State of Song, and Xin Qiji has focused his attention on Yang Tan in recent days. How can he find out about them all?
The four of them climbed up the stairs and soon arrived at the third floor of Beigu Tower.

From this level, the vast river unfolded before their eyes. The emerald waters, rippling with turquoise waves, rushed from west to east into the sea, like ripples of brocade or a thousand galloping horses, churning the sunlight reflected upon them into a shard of gold. The thirty or so scholars on the upper floor stood in awe, but they were not admiring the magnificent scenery. Instead, they watched a slender man in his thirties in the center, writing with a brush, his pen swishing like dragons, writing large characters as tall as rafters on a piece of paper.

When Xin Qiji and the other three went up to the tower, someone turned around and a few new faces whispered, asking who the leader was. The others just replied with "fishes and dragons danced all night", and those new faces were in awe and bowed immediately.

The thirty-year-old man who was writing a poem heard the noise, looked up, and said to Xin Qiji in a very familiar manner: "Xin Wulang, wait a moment, I still have the next stanza to finish."

Xin Qiji's eyes fixed, and he looked carefully at the face of the thirty-year-old man. He felt that this man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him, so he could only look at Zhu Xi.

Zhu Xi didn't dare to interrupt the literary gathering and whispered, "This is Mr. Yu Hu, the widely recognized prime minister of the Song Dynasty twenty years later, also known as Zhang Xiaoxiang and Zhang Anguo."

Xin Qiji had heard of the name Zhang Xiaoxiang, and it was very well-known.

This is not only because Zhang Xiaoxiang was good at writing poetry, but also because in the Song Dynasty, it was normal for people to waste their lives. They would pass the imperial examination and become officials in their thirties or forties, and then serve in the central government. If they were lucky enough to have a chance to become a prime minister, they would be exhausted and old, making it difficult for them to realize their life ambitions. They would retire with regret after only a few years in power.

A hundred years of life pass by in a flash. How can one not feel sad?

What Zhang Xiaoxiang showed was that his fate had not been wasted by the years.

He is really too young.

He became famous young, passed the imperial examination young, and became an official even younger.

Historical records say that he was intelligent and quick-witted since childhood, could memorize a book after reading it twice, and his articles were elegant and he could compose thousands of words in a short time, which was beyond people's expectations.

Zhang Xiaoxiang passed the provincial examination when he was sixteen years old.

At the age of 23, that is, in the 24th year of Shaoxing, Zhang Xiaoxiang became the top scholar by stepping on Qin Xun, the grandson of Qin Hui.

Among those who took the exam at the same time as the young Zhang Xiaoxiang, the one who passed was the 44-year-old Yu Yunwen, and the one who failed was the 30-year-old Lu You who was envied by Qin Hui.

Of course, stepping on Qin Hui's grandson naturally had its price. Furthermore, Zhang Xiaoxiang was a man of great resolve. After becoming the top scholar, his first act was to redress Yue Fei's injustice. His second act was to publicly reject a marriage proposal from Qin Hui's trusted confidant, the Minister of Revenue, Cao Yong. It was clear that he was going to directly oppose Qin Hui.

Mr. Qin was a petty person who never waited overnight for revenge. He directly instructed his followers to falsely accuse Zhang Xiaoxiang's father Zhang Qi of killing his sister-in-law and treason, and implicated Zhang Xiaoxiang as well.

However, Zhang Xiaoxiang was lucky because not long after, Qin Hui died and Zhang Qi was rehabilitated.

Zhang Xiaoxiang was promoted repeatedly from the 24th to the 29th year of Shaoxing. At the age of 27, he was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Sheren and became the prime minister of the Song Dynasty.

This is amazing.

Because theoretically speaking, Zhang Xiaoxiang should be sent out to be a prefect, and then return to Beijing to be a minister, and then the transport envoy, the pacification envoy and other local official positions that can be called prime ministers are waiting for him.

At the latest, when he was over 40 years old, Zhang Xiaoxiang could become the prime minister of the country.

But if a person is not envied, he is mediocre. Just when Zhang Xiaoxiang was going smoothly, he was impeached, dismissed from office and sent home, where he has been unemployed for two years.

In the spring breeze of Beigu Tower, Zhang Xiaoxiang wore a wide robe and wrote non-stop, like an immortal.

Xin Qiji wanted to ask Zhu Xi about this person's likes and dislikes, but he heard a clear singing voice.

It turned out that after Zhang Xiaoxiang finished writing this poem, he sang it loudly without waiting for others to recite it.

It is:

"Snow washes away the dust of the enemy, the wind brings the Chu clouds to stay. Who wrote the tragic and heroic horn on the ancient city tower? The lake and the sea have always been heroic, the pass is now a beautiful scenery, cut the candle and watch the Wu hook. Only the joy is left, the waves and the sky float.

Recalling the old days, Zhou and Xie, the rich spring and autumn. Xiao Qiao was newly married, her perfume sachet still untied, her achievements leading to a leisurely life. The sun sets over the rocks of Red Cliff, the withered grass beside Feishui Bridge, a faint call to mind. I wish to ride the wind, strike the oar and swear to sail in the current.

Xin Qiji couldn't help but clap his hands and said, "It is truly a great poem! It will be sung for thousands of years!"

Afterwards, several people sang along, and the atmosphere instantly reached a climax.

Yang Dan was so excited that he was shaking all over. He really didn't expect that his luck would become so good by following Xin Qiji. He could see so many good poems appearing in any literary gathering he attended.

He immediately thought he should take notes on the whole process, including everyone's expressions and actions, and the origins of the poems. When the time comes, compile it into a book and name it "Jiankang Literary Masters Collection." Wouldn't it be comparable to the Tang Dynasty's Yin Fan's "Heyue Yingling Collection" and the Liang Dynasty's Prince Zhaoming's "Wenxuan"?

Just do it when you want to. Yang Neng couldn't find a reliable book for a while, so he simply snatched the brush from the scholar beside him and started writing on his clothes.

This kind of bold and unrestrained poetry created by Su Xueshi has been sung among the people for many years, so the singer waiting on the side was not surprised. She directly asked the man to step forward and sing along with the song.

After Zhang Xiaoxiang finished singing, he did not drink as usual. Instead, he came to Xin Qiji with a glass of wine and said seriously, "Xin Wulang, this poem is written for Yu Xianggong, Liu Dalang and you!"

More than thirty scholars were all stunned, then turned around and looked at Xin Qiji.

Yang Neng paused the brush in his hand and continued to write faster.

Oh my god, there was an unexpected gain!

(End of this chapter)